The Mountain Lion Encounter
by luminous77
Summary: Leonard helps a young woman in danger. This is another alternative beginning for Leonard and Penny.
1. Chapter 1

**Here's a little story that was going around in my head for quite some time. The story has five chapters, and updates will be posted on a daily basis. This means the last chapter will be posted on the day, when the series finale of The Big Bang Theory will be aired.  
**

**I hope you enjoy. :)**

**Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from ****_The Big Bang Theory_****. I don't own any of the characters.**

* * *

CHAPTER 1

Leonard wiped away beads of sweat from his forehead with a tissue that he had pulled out of a pocket of his hoodie. He was completely out of breath and about to get an asthma attack. Taking a puff from his inhaler to prevent this, he looked up the steeply ascending path that was leading up to a rugged mountain.

"What the hell was I thinking? I'm an indoor cat for god's sake! I'm really not made for such exertions," he grumbled.

He turned around and looked down the path, which led to a small valley and up to a treeless hill on the other side. On the top of that hill he could see the blurred outlines of Ellen Reynolds in the shimmering midday heat. She was a coworker of Leonard and just like him she was employed as an experimental physicist at Caltech.

Two days earlier she persuaded Leonard to accompany her on a hike in the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles. He had agreed to this hike, not knowing what lay ahead of him. And why did he agree to do this? Because he wanted to get closer to Ellen. Maybe he could ask her out on a date which could lead to a relationship. And going on this hiking tour could be an good idea to set things in motion. At least that was what he thought. They already got along really well at work and he was pretty sure she had flirted with him the other day when they had lunch together at the Caltech cafeteria. So he assumed there was interest on Ellen's side as well.

Leonard was fed up with his lonely life. Sure he had friends, like his roommate Sheldon or Howard and Raj. Together with them he spent many fun hours of playing card games like Mystic Warlords of Ka'a, fantasy tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons or video games like Halo. He loved all those things, but he didn't want to spend the rest of his life exclusively just with stuff like this.

The last time Leonard had something like a girlfriend was two years ago, when he had a short relationship with Priya Koothrappali, Raj's younger sister. And two years before Priya there was Joyce Kim, but they only dated for a few days. As it turned out Joyce was a North Korean spy attempting to obtain information on his work, so in retrospect it was good their relationship ended so quickly, or he really could have gotten in serious trouble. But Priya and Joyce were the past.

Nothing had materialized on the relationship front for Leonard since those days with Priya and Joyce. However, he had believed that now a time had come, in which an opportunity to set foot in the world of dating again had openend up with Ellen. He had really been in an upbeat mood about this. Therefore he wanted to grasp at this opportunity. But unfortunately it had very likely gone down the toilet.

Leonard had told Ellen that this hike was a terrible idea and that he didn't want to go further on this crappy trail full of stones that ruined his shoes. But Ellen had no intention to abandon this hike and to head back to their car. She made some comments to encourage him to continue, but as a matter of fact these comments came across as a little bit condescending. Ellen sounded almost like Sheldon. So he came back at her with a pretty sarcastic remark and a few minutes later they were suddenly in a heated argument in the middle of nowhere. Eventually he had enough, so he just turned around, leaving a baffled Ellen behind, who continued the hike on her own.

While Leonard was on his way back to Ellen's car, he thought about how to apologize when she would return. He also thought about what he should do in the meantime, since it would certainly take a few hours before Ellen would come back. Fortunately he had his phone with him, so he could play games on it. He also had some food and water in his backpack. Enough to pass the time without getting hungry and thirsty.

Finally reaching the top of the mountain he could see that the way back to the car was longer than he thought.

"Wow, we had already covered quite a long distance," he gasped.

Pausing for a moment, Leonard enjoyed the view despite the physical exertion. He looked at his watch and saw it was almost one 'o clock.

"Time for lunch", he said to himself and put down his backpack next to a rock by the side of the path, a big tree nearby providing shade.

He sat down on the rock and took a wrapped sandwich out of the backpack. Putting the sandwich paper back into it, he took a bite of his meal. Sitting here in the shadow of a tree, eating something, helped him to recharge his batteries. Actually it was quite nice on this mountain. Why couldn't this be the destinaton of the hike? This would have been a perfect place for a picnic.

Leonard had just finished eating and was about to drink something, when he suddenly heard a woman's voice near him that sounded quite agitated, not to say fearful. Someone seemed to be in danger and needed help. He got up, quickly buckled on his backpack and started to go into the direction from where he heard the voice. He had to leave the path he was on the whole time, stepping on a sandy trail that was crossed by many tree roots. Since the trail led downhill, he had to walk carefully to avoid stumbling over the tree roots. All the while he could still hear the woman's voice. After a short time he reached a small creek and looked around.

He couldn't see someone, but he could still hear the voice, which sounded more agitated and fearful now. He slowly walked along the creek towards the voice. The ground in this area consisted of loose rocks, so he had to pay attention where to place his next step, or he would involuntarily have a bath in the waters next to him. Behind a big rock, which he carefully circumvented, he could finally see from whom the voice came from. It was a young woman. She didn't notice Leonard, who was standing next to the rock, observing the scene that unfolded before him. The young woman held something in her hand that looked like a long stick. She fidgeted with it as if she wanted to fend off something or somebody. Leonard couldn't see who or what it was, since a group of trees and some bushes blocked the sight.

Suddenly he heard another sound. It sounded like the hissing of a cat. A big cat. And then he could see what was going on, as something came out from behind the trees and bushes. A large felid of the subfamily Felinae. The young woman was confronted with a mountain lion.

The mountain lion inched its way towards the young woman, who slowly backed away in the direction of the creek behind her. Obviously the backpack she was wearing was quite heavy, because she threatened to tilt backwards while she backed away from the lion. Leonard could see the fear in her face. Sweat ran down her forehead which let some strands of her blond hair stuck to it. She still fidgeted with the branch in her hand, speaking to the animal in a shaky voice.

Leonard remembered the warning sign at the parking lot that said, if you encounter a mountain lion you should face the lion, back away slowly, be large and shout. The young woman did two of these things. She faced the mountain lion and backed away slowly, but the lion still came towards her and seemed to become aggressive, as he hissed again. He had to help her.

He raised his arms to appear larger and intimidating and started to shout. "Hey, hey, hey, back up!"

The young woman was startled by Leonard's shouting and dropped the stick. She turned around and saw Leonard on the other side of the creek and was about to run away in his direction.

"No, no, no," he yelled. "Face the lion again. Don't run. Hold your ground and stay calm. I'll help you."

The young woman nodded frantically, faced the lion again and held her ground like Leonard said, while he continued to shout at the lion and slowly waved his arms. "Back up! Back up! Back up!"

Leonard didn't stop shouting and a few tense moments later that seemed like hours, the mountain lion actually began to retreat into the bushes and eventually climbed up the hill from where he came from. Both the young woman and Leonard kept a wary eye on the lion until the wild animal was out of sight.

When the lion finally had disappeared in the forest, the young woman crouched down and uttered a deep sigh of relief. "Phew! I didn't end as lunch for a cougar."

"Are you okay?" Leonard asked, still standing on the other side of the creek.

The young woman got up and turned around. She just nodded, indicating that everything was okay. Then she slowly crossed the creek, which was only a few inches deep and walked towards Leonard with a big smile on her face. Before Leonard could say something, she had engulfed him in a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you so much. You rescued me. You are my hero."

Not used to get so much appreciation, especially not from a young, attractive woman, Leonard blushed heavily, feeling the heat on his cheeks. "Nah! It's the least I could do."

The young woman pulled away, her hands still resting on Leonard's shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Don't be so modest. I was so terribly scared. Without you I wouldn't have known what to do. The cougar probably would have devoured me with one bite."

Leonard blushed even more, if that was possible.

"Oh, my name is Penny by the way."

"Leonard...um, I mean, um...my name is Leonard."

Penny smiled brightly, while a thought crossed her mind. _He's cute._ She reached out her right hand. "Nice to meet you, Leonard."

After a moment's hesitation Leonard took Penny's hand and shook it. "Um, nice to meet you too." After all the excitement during the minutes before, he had calmed down and only realized now how gorgeous the young woman in front of him was. She was about his height, her long blond hair framing a beautiul face with amazing big green eyes. Her wonderful smile emphasized her high cheekbones, another marvellous feature of her beautiful face. She wore a light blue shirt with purple floral patterns, blue denim shorts and hiking boots.

Penny chuckled, amused by Leonard's shyness. "These are unusual circumstances to meet someone, right?" she asked in a cheerful voice.

Leonard was mesmerized by her sparkling green eyes, so he didn't answer immediately. "Huh? Um...Oh, yeah. That's true."

"This mountain lion came out of the blue. I was walking along this creek, and suddenly this huge kitty stood right in front of me. I actually thought mountain lions are shy and seeing one of them is very rare. Obviously I was wrong," she chuckled.

"Well, usually mountain lions are shy, elusive and solitary animals. They are mostly active during dawn, dusk and at night time and avoid people and areas with human activities," Leonard explained.

"Not in this case," Penny said, brushing off some dirt from her clothes.

Leonard nodded. "Looks like it."

"I see you are on a hiking tour."

"Yes, and I guess you as well."

"A really good guess," Penny winked.

"Um...Oh, of course," Leonard said, feeling a little bit embarrassed. "With your backpack and the hiking boots, that's quite obvious."

Penny reached out and laid her hand on his lower arm. "I'm just teasing you."

Leonard smiled sheepishly. "Oh...okay."

Penny put down her backsack and sat down on a rock. "How can I thank you? Can I invite you to a cup of coffee?" she asked, while taking a washcloth out of the backsack to wipe away the sweat from her forehead.

"Um...sure. That sounds great."

"How about now?" Penny suggested. "After this nerve-wracking mountain lion encounter I don't think I'm gonna continue my hike."

"Oh, I'm afraid this is not possible," Leonard replied. "I'm not hiking alone. I have to wait for my companion. I was too exhausted to continue, so I decided to stop the hike short and turn back to the car. And the car isn't mine, so I have to wait or it's becoming difficult to get home."

Penny was a little bit disappointed. "Hmm, I see." But then she had an idea. "But how about this? You can come with me. In my car. And after we had coffee I'll drop you off at your place. We'll leave a note on the windshield for your companion. Is this okay for you?"

"Um...I think that would be a possibility. Are you parking at the Cucamonga lot?" Leonard asked.

"Yep, there is my car," Penny answered.

"Great! This is where I wanted to go."

Penny stuffed the washcloth back in her backpack, grabbed it and jumped up from the rock she sat on. "Cool, then let's go. Oh wait! Where do you live? If it's San Franciso or Seattle I'm afraid I can't drive you there."

Leonard chuckled. "No, no. I live around the corner. In Pasadena."

"Hey, this is so cool. What a coincidence. I live in Pasadena too."

"Really? The world is small."

Both laughed and began to walk back to the path that led to the parking lot. After they were back on the path, Leonard quickly realized that with Penny by his side, walking on the stony trail suddenly wasn't so difficult anymore. On their way, Leonard and Penny continued their talk.

"As a real Californian you certainly know how to surf," Penny said.

Leonard had to grin. "I'm sorry to disappoint you. I couldn't stand on a surfboard for one second. Besides I'm not a real Californian. I'm from the other side of the country. East coast. I'm originally from New Jersey."

"Oh, that's interesting. Well, I'm not a real Californian either. I'm from Omaha, Nebraska."

"What brought you from Nebraska to California?"

"Well, I came to California a few years ago to become an actress. But this hasn't really worked out so far, so I'm also a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory. What about you?"

"Um, I'm an experimental physicist at the California Institute of Technology."

Penny was impressed. "Oh, a physicist. One of those smart guys who can explain how all the things in our universe work."

Leonard chuckled. "Well, I can justifiably say I'm fairly proficient in physics, but I'm far away from understanding all the things in our universe."

Penny smiled. "You know, my apartment is near Caltech. Well, it's not my apartment. It belongs to my friend Cheryl. She works at the Cheesecake Factory with me. I just live there as her guest until I have found my own apartment. About two weeks ago I moved out of my old one, after breaking up..." Penny paused for a moment, as she suddenly felt a surge of anger, before ending her sentence with clenched teeth. "...with Kurt. This cheating, lying jerk."

Penny looked at Leonard who seemed to feel awkward and just nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't want to bore you with my personal stuff."

"No, no. That's okay," Leonard replied.

"Kurt, my ex-boyfriend, is the reason I make these hikes. Here, out in the nature I can relax, regain my strength, take my mind off things. Well, nine times out of ten. This encounter with the cougar earlier wasn't really relaxing," Penny laughed.

Leonard nodded. "So, do you have a new apartment in prospect? I guess, it's not easy to find affordable apartments these days."

Penny agreed. "Yeah, you can say that again! But no, there's nothing in sight at the moment. I hope I find something soon. Cheryl's apartment is pretty small. And the couch I'm sleeping on is pretty uncomfortable."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later they had arrived at the parking lot. While Penny put her backsack into the trunk of her red Volkswagen, Leonard took out a notepad and a biro out of his and began to write a message for Ellen.

"I hope you're not getting in trouble," Penny said, after Leonard tucked the note behind the windshield wiper of Ellen's car.

"I don't think so. I guess she's happy to be rid of me," Leonard chuckled and put his backsack in the trunk of Penny's car as well when called upon to do so.

"She?" Penny asked curiously and shut the trunklid.

"Yeah, her name is Ellen," Leonard answered. "A coworker of mine from Caltech. She talked me into this hike."

Penny smirked. "I see. So, you usually don't go hiking?"

"No, not really. I prefer indoor activities. I'm an indoor cat so to say."

Penny had to chuckle. "Nice metaphor. Well, Mr. indoor cat, then I'm really lucky the cat was out of doors today for a change, or I would be mountain lion food now."

In good spirits both got in Penny's car and drove to Pasadena. During the drive there wasn't much talking. Both enjoyed the nature of the San Gabriel Mountains and the spectacular views on the Los Angeles basin as soon as the road left the mountain region and descended to the densely populated South Californian lowlands at the coast of the Pacific Ocean.

* * *

Thirty minutes later Penny brought her car to a stop in front of a nice café in downtown Pasadena. They got out of the car and entered the café, where they found a cozy place in a quiet corner.

After ordering coffee and cookies, Leonard and Penny were engrossed in conversation, talking about this and that, so Leonard was quite surprised when he looked at his watch and saw that almost three hours had passed since they entered the café.

"Wow, look at that. We're already talking for three hours," Leonard uttered with an astonished expression on his face.

Penny looked at the clock on the wall across from her. "Indeed!"

"It's so nice talking to you and I'd love to talk more," Leonard said apologetically. "But I still have to buy take-out meals for dinner with my roommate. He's a creature of habit and wants his food every day dead on time."

"No problem, I suppose Cheryl is waiting with dinner too," Penny replied. "This was a really nice afternoon. I enjoyed it very much. Maybe we can stay in contact."

"I'd be glad to!"

Penny smiled and took a napkin. "Can you give me something to write?"

"Sure." Leonard took a biro out of a pocket of his hoodie and handed it over to Penny.

Still smiling, she took the biro and started to write something on the napkin. "Okay, here's my phone number. I 'd be glad if I'd hear from you again anytime soon. Just give me a call, so we can have a nice talk again."

Blushing, Leonard took the napkin and the biro from Penny who passed both things across the table. "I will."

After paying the bill, they got up from their table and walked out of the café. Penny opened the trunk of her car, so Leonard could take his backsack out of it. After closing the trunk, Penny turned to Leonard and thanked him again for his help in a dangerous situation.

"I really can't thank you enough Leonard."

"You're welcome," Leonard said with a shy smile. "Um, the restaurant where I buy the take-out meals is just a block away from here. And from there I can walk home."

"I can drive you," Penny offered.

Leonard declined Penny's offer with thanks. "Thanks, but you don't have to."

"Okay. Well..." She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Bye, Leonard."

He blushed heavily. "Um, bye Penny."

Radiantly smiling, Penny went to her car and opened the driver's door. But before she got in she stopped, looked at Leonard, who still stood on the sidewalk and moved a hand to her ear. Making a telephone gesture with it she mouthed the words, _Call me!_ Then she waved goodbye to Leonard, who beckoned back, and finally got in the car. A few moments later she started the car engine and pulled away.

Leonard sighed and looked after the red Volkswagen, which disappeared behind the next corner. Looking at the napkin with Penny's phone number, a smile formed on his face and he told himself to call Penny as soon as possible. Maybe he would already do it the next day.

* * *

As it turned out, Leonard didn't call Penny the next day. And he didn't call her the day after that, and not the day that followed. With each passing day his firm resolution to call Penny decreased. Somehow his courage left him and he began to overthink things. Although he couldn't get Penny out of his head and although he had her phone number, Leonard wasn't able to make the call. Why should he call her anyway? Sure, she asked for it. She said, she'd be glad to hear from him again. But why? Just to talk? If he would call her and ask her to meet again for a coffee, Penny could think he's asking her out. For a date. A girl like her would never go on a date with someone like him. So why deceive yourself with false hopes. Leonard didn't know what to do. However, at one point his overthinking, self-doubts and faintheartedness were interrupted by a sudden rush of courage again and he actually wanted to go to the Cheesecake Factory to see if Penny was there. But this sudden rush, whatever it caused in the first place, was literally over in a second. And so time passed by. Day by day. Week by week.

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews. :) Here's the second chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from ****_The Big Bang Theory_****. I don't own any of the characters.**

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CHAPTER 2

Almost two months had passed since the mountain lion encounter. Leonard didn't call Penny, like she asked him to do. He simply couldn't muster the courage to do it, although he couldn't get Penny out of his head. There wasn't a single day he didn't think of her. He had even dreamt of her a few times. He was really mad at himself. He hated his insecurity. Why didn't he call her? She just wanted to talk again, nothing else. But this wasn't possible anymore. Not after two months of doing nothing in this regard when you said you would.

With regard to Ellen Reynolds, his colleague from Caltech, there was no need for Leonard to get his hopes up. Except for work-related things she didn't speak to him anymore. But Leonard didn't mind, since there was only Penny in his thoughts anyway, when it came to women.

* * *

It was September 24, 2007. Leonard and his roommate Sheldon had just bought some Indian food for dinner. When they arrived at their apartment building at 2311 North Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena, California, Leonard noticed a red Volkswagen that was parked in front of the building. _Penny is driving such a car._ He frowned and shook his head, trying to get rid of this thought and opened the door that led into the lobby. Seconds later he and Sheldon walked up the stairs on their way to their apartment.

"You want to hear an interesting thing about stairs?" Sheldon asked.

"Not really," Leonard answered.

But Sheldon ignored Leonard's obvious disinterest. "If the height of a single step is off by as little as two millimetres, most people will trip."

"I don't care," Leonard said, really not interested in this factoid, which Sheldon used to tell him at every possible opportunity. But then he suddenly had to think about it nevertheless. "Two millimetres? That doesn't seem right."

"No, it's true," Sheldon assured him. "I did a series of experiments when I was twelve, my father broke his clavicle."

"Is that why they sent you to boarding school?"

"No, that was the result of my work with lasers."

When they reached the floor, where their apartment was situated, Leonard stopped dead in his tracks_._ The door of the apartment across from theirs was open and revealed the sight of a young woman who was obviously about to move in. He couldn't believe his eyes. _No way. This is not possible. _The young woman was Penny. Was he dreaming? He firmly closed his eyes, but she was still there when he opened them again after a few seconds.

"Oh, looks like we have a new neighbor," Sheldon said matter-of-factly.

Penny just looked through some of her stuff, while listening to music that played in the background. Hearing Sheldon's voice, she turned her head in the direction of the open apartment door.

Penny's jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide. "Leonard?" she exclaimed, the look of pure astonishment written all over her face. "Is that you?"

Sheldon was astonished as well and looked at his roommate. "You two know each other?"

Penny walked over to the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Um. Hi Penny," Leonard uttered sheepishly. As much as he was happy to see her again, this reencounter was really awkward. "Um, I live here. Right across the hall."

Penny's jaw dropped again. "What? Really? Wow! What an amazing coincidence. The world is small after all."

Leonard smiled shyly. "Yeah, seems to be. Um, welcome to the building."

"Thank you," Penny replied with a bright smile.

"Um, this is my roommate Sheldon. Sheldon, this is Penny."

"Hi, Sheldon," she greeted Leonard's lanky roommate.

"Hi, Penny. How come you know Leonard?" Sheldon asked.

"Well, he saved me from a mountain lion," Penny answered, all the while looking at Leonard.

Sheldon frowned. "He saved you from a mountain lion, a Puma concolor? That seems pretty unlikely to me."

"But it's true," Penny said firmly.

Sheldon turned to Leonard. "You never mentioned this. When did..."

He couldn't finish his question, because Penny suddenly pulled Leonard in her apartment and closed the door. Her pull was so strong, he almost stumbled.

"Wow!" Penny said, a bright smile on her face. "How life goes. It seems the saying 'You always meet twice' is right. It's so great to see you again."

But then the smile on Penny's face disappeared, and with arms crossed she looked intently at Leonard who apparently tried to avoid eye contact. "But now that you are here, there's one thing I'd really like to ask you."

Leonard lowered his head, knowing exactly what she would ask him.

"Well, Mister," Penny said in a stern tone. "You said you would call me. But you never did."

"I'm really really sorry I didn't call you. I...I..." Every possible answer that crossed Leonard's mind in this moment, would let him look bad in his opinion. Then he realized the bag of food in his hand. "I really don't know what to say. I can only apologize. Well, um...maybe I can make it up to you." He hold out the bag to Penny. "We brought home Indian food. And, um...I know that moving can be stressful, and I find that when I'm undergoing stress, that good food and company can have a comforting effect. Also, curry is a natural laxative, and I don't have to tell you that, uh, a clean colon is just one less thing to worry about.

Penny was a little taken aback by Leonard's sudden flood of words, but she immediately knew what he wanted to say. "Oh, you're inviting me over to eat?"

Leonard nodded. "Uh, yes."

Penny beamed. "Oh, that's so nice, I'd love to." She turned round on her heel to open the door. But then she paused for a moment, turned around again and looked at Leonard with a smile on her face. "And oh, apology accepted."

Leonard was relieved and smiled shyly.

"But, don't think I wasn't mad at you when you didn't call me," Penny said. "But to tell you the truth, by next week I would have taken matters in my own hands to contact you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you seemed to be a nice guy and I totally enjoyed our talk at the café. I knew your name and I knew you work as a physicist at Caltech. I think with this information I would have found out your phone number," she smiled. "And now let's grab a bite to eat."

With these words she opened the door and stepped into the hall.

Leonard had to process Penny's words, while he followed her. _She thought I'm a nice guy, and she wanted to find out my phone number?_

Sheldon was already in apartment 4A and waited for his roommate. He had a confused look on his face, when Leonard entered apartment 4A with Penny right behind him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked Leonard.

"Oh, I invited Penny to have dinner with us." he answered.

"But Wolowitz and Koothrappali are coming over to eat. We don't have enough food for a fifth person."

"Don't worry. I'll share mine with Penny." Leonard said, looking at Penny with a smile.

Penny smiled back at him. "Aw, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Sheldon just wanted to start a protest against Leonard's invitation, when Howard and Raj stormed into the apartment without knocking.

"Hey Le...uuuuuhhhhh," was all what came out of Raj's mouth as soon as he saw Penny.

"Nice greeting," Howard said laughing and pushed Raj aside. He walked towards Penny, who stood next to Leonard's armchair. "Oh, who do we have here?"

"Hi, I'm Penny."

Howard made a bow. "Enchante Mademoiselle. I'm Howard Wolowitz, Caltech department of Applied Physics. You may be familiar with some of my work. It's currently orbiting Jupiter's largest moon, taking high-resolution digital photographs."

"Um, no," Penny answered, amused by Howard's antics.

"Well, I can show you..."

"Howard, stop it," Leonard interrupted him. "Penny just moved in across the hall. We have invited her to dinner."

"We?" Sheldon asked, raising a brow. "No, you invited her. And as I pointed out earlier, we don't have enough food for an extra person."

"And I said, I will pass the half of my helping on to Penny."

"Fine," Sheldon snorted. "That's up to you. I won't share my food."

Now Penny felt a little uncomfortable. "Please don't put yourself to any bother on my account. Maybe we can have dinner some other time. I go back to my apartment again."

"That's very considerate, Penny. Thank you for your understanding," Sheldon said.

"No, no! That's really no problem. My invitation remains in effect, " Leonard assured Penny. "Please have a seat. Make yourself at home."

Penny smiled. "If you insist."

"I do," Leonard said and went to the kitchen area to get a plate for Penny.

Penny walked over to the couch and sat down in Sheldon's spot of all places.

Of course Sheldon objected immediately "Um, Penny, that's where I sit."

"So, sit next to me." She patted on the spot on the couch next to her.

"No, I sit there." Sheldon insisted.

"What's the difference?" Penny asked.

Sheldon was flabbergasted. "What's the difference?"

Leonard, holding a plate in his hand, shook his head. "Here we go."

Howard and Raj sighed, while Sheldon started to explain why he only could sit in that special spot. "In the winter that seat is close enough to the radiator to remain warm, and yet not so close as to cause perspiration. In the summer it's directly in the path of a cross breeze created by open windows there...and there. It faces the television at an angle that is neither direct, thus discouraging conversation, nor so far wide to create a parallax distortion, I could go on, but I think I've made my point."

Penny listened to Sheldon with an open mouth. _Is he serious?_ When the lanky theoretical physicist had ended his speech she was dumbfounded. "Oookay, thanks for the explanation. So, you want me to sit somewhere else?"

"Yes, please," Sheldon said matter-of-factly.

Leonard pointed at the wooden chair next to his armchair. "You can sit here, if you like."

Penny nodded. "Okay." She got up, and sat down in the chair, while Leonard took a seat in his armchair.

Sheldon sat down in his spot and Howard next to him. Raj, who usually sat in the wooden chair looked at Leonard with a quizzical expression on his face.

"Raj, can you sit on the floor just this once?"

A little grumpily he sat down on the floor, while Leonard handed out the meals. As promised he took half of his meal out of his box, put it on the plate he got for Penny and gave it to her.

"Thanks, sweetie," she said with a radiant smile, that let Leonard blush. After taking the plate from Leonard Penny looked at Raj, who sat with crossed legs on the floor. "So, you guys work with Leonard and Sheldon at the University?

Raj looked at her without saying a word. Then he looked back at his food, taking a mouthful.

Penny was a little taken aback by Raj's strange behaviour. "Uh, I'm sorry. Do you speak English?"

"Oh, he speaks English," Howard chimed in. "He just can't speak to women."

Penny was flabbergasted. "Really? Why?"

"Selective mutism," Leonard answered. "His name is Raj by the way."

Raj looked at Penny with a smile and nodded.

"Well, nice to meet you Raj."

Howard leaned forward and looked at Penny in a kind of lewd way. "So, Penny. A bombshell like you certainly works as a model."

Penny had to chuckle. "Um, no. I'm a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory."

"Oh, what a bummer," Howard replied. "And here I thought you would earn your money lolling on a hood, clad in a bikini, posing for sexy photos."

Penny frowned. _This guy is creepy._ "Sorry to disappoint. I'm only waiting tables."

"Penny is also an aspiring actress," Leonard tossed in.

"Oh! Really?" Howard asked. "Have we seen you in any movies or TV shows?"

"Um, no. I just started acting," Penny fibbed, feeling ashamed to tell them she had a role in a very bad, very cheap horror flick called 'Serial Ape-ist'.

"Oh, by the way. Why did you storm in without knocking?" Leonard wanted to know. "Anything important you wanted to tell us?"

"You can say that again!" Howard answered, holding up a CD-ROM in a slimcase. "We found a Stephen Hawking lecture from MIT in 1974."

"That's really cool," Leonard said.

Howard nodded. "It's before he became a creepy computer voice," he said, imitating Hawking's voice generated by his speech-generating device.

"Penny, Stephen Hawking is a well-known physicist," Sheldon said in a condescending tone.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. He's the wheelchair dude who invented time," she replied.

Sheldon huffed. "He didn't invent time. That's a really silly thing to say. You probably refer to the title of one of his books. 'A Brief History Of Time.'"

"Um, yes. So, what do you guys do for fun around here?" Penny asked.

"We play Mystic Warlords of Ka'a, Dungeons & Dragons, Halo. Things like that," Sheldon answered.

Penny just had a quizzical expression on her face.

Sheldon sighed. "You never heard of those games, didn't you? Well, Mystic Warlords of Ka'a is a card game, Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game and Halo is a video game."

Penny rolled her eyes. She really didn't like Sheldon's condescending manner. "Um, okay. Well, I thought more of going to a dance club, a bar or a sports game."

Now the four men had quizzical expressions on their faces.

"You know what a dance club is, or a bar?"

"Of course, Sheldon said. "But we don't go to such places."

Howard objected. "Speak for yourself, but just yesterday I went to a bar to pick up chicks."

"And?" Leonard asked. "Were you successful?"

"Shut up!"

Penny shook her head. "Are you rooting for a sports team? LA Lakers, LA Dodgers?"

Leonard looked at her with a blank expression. "LA Dodgers? This is a football team, right?"

"I think I have to teach you a thing or two," Penny said with a chuckle.

"Well, you could teach me a thing or two about...you know what I mean," Howard winked and grinned in a really creepy way. "I bet you are really good at this, and you never stop learning."

Although Howard didn't say it, Penny knew of course what he meant. It was quite unambiguous. "Ugh!" she uttered to express her disgust and screwed up her face.

"Howard, you are a pig," Leonard said, annoyed by Howard's creepy advances.

"Hey, I'm just making conversation," Howard replied.

"Then change the subject of the conversation," Leonard hissed.

Penny looked at Leonard and mouthed the words _'Thank you'_, which he answered with mouthing the words _'You're welcome'_.

Howard sighed. "Fine. Well, to return to Penny's question what we do around here for fun. I know a wonderful little sushi bar on Colorado Boulevard that has karaoke."

"Oh, that sounds like fun," Penny said. "Let's do this."

Howard leaned over the coffee table, looked at Penny and started to sing. "Baby, baby don't get hooked on me. Uh, baby, baby don't get hooked on me."

While Howard presented his rendition of an old Mac Davis song, which weirded Penny out, Sheldon leaned over to Leonard. "I don't know what your odds are in the world as a whole, but as far as the population of this living room goes, you're a veritable Mack Daddy," he whispered.

Leonard had to smile. Maybe he had a chance with Penny after all. But how could he accomplish this?

He was pulled out from his thoughts, when he felt a tapping on his shoulder. "Um, what? Sorry, I was lost in thought."

"Obviously!" Penny chuckled. "What do you think? We could go to this sushi bar. It is my treat."

Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj agreed and gladly accepted Penny's invitation. But first they finished their dinner, talking about all sort of things. Although Penny didn't understand most of the things the four men were talking about, especially when it revolved around science, she enjoyed the conversation and could throw in some funny comments here and there. It was a welcome change to the usual gatherings she had with her friends.

* * *

Thirty minutes later they all sat in Leonard's car on their way to the little sushi bar on Colorado Boulevard.

It became a really fun evening. After having some Japanese delicacies, Howard and Raj took over the karaoke machine. Penny, Leonard and Sheldon sat on their table and amusedly listened how the two men huddled through quite a few songs from all sorts of genres after a fashion. At one point Penny could convince a very reluctant Leonard to sing at least one song with her. Leonard was surprised at himself that he agreed to do this. Singing karaoke in front of total strangers was a completely new experience for him. In the end Leonard barely moved his lips, let alone sing something audible, but it still was fun.

More than once Penny tried to make eye contact with Leonard during the evening, all the while smiling at him and seemingly didn't want to miss out an opportunity to touch him. Leonard savored the attention Penny granted him. Of course he had to blush every time she looked him in the eyes and because of his shyness he himself wasn't able to seek eye contact on his own initiative. Penny found this charming and cute. Leonard was so different than all the guys she was involved with so far, but different in a good way.

While Leonard enjoyed the evening and Penny's attention towards him, he somehow couldn't classify her behaviour. Was she just friendly or was she flirting with him?

When they left the sushi bar it was almost 11 p.m. They all had to work the next day, so it was time to head for home, although Penny wouldn't have minded going anywhere else despite having the morning shift at the Cheesecake factory. When they arrived at the apartment building, Sheldon, Leonard and Penny said goodbye to Raj and Howard, who then drove away with Raj's car.

Sheldon quickly disappared in apartment 4A as soon as they had reached their floor, saying it was way too late and he would need his rest to accomplish his scientific work for the benefit not only of the university but the whole human kind.

Standing in front of apartment 4B with Leonard next to her, Penny shook her head and chuckled. "The whole human kind? He's not very modest, isn't he?"

"No, he's not," Leonard confirmed with a giggle.

A somewhat awkward silence followed, as they both just don't know what to say. Looking at each other, they had a few seconds of quite intense eye contact.

Although Leonard somehow tried to avoid direct eye contact, due to his shyness, he couldn't escape from the fascination that Penny's sparkling green eyes exerted on him. He was mesmerized again, like the day he saw those wonderful eyes for the first time.

But Penny couldn't look away either. _He has friendly and warm, brown eyes._ "Um, this was a really fun evening," she said to break the silence.

Leonard cleared his throat and nodded. "Yes, absolutely. Well, have a good night."

"Good night, Leonard." She leaned forward and gave Leonard a kiss on his cheek, which let him blush tremendously. He couldn't help doing this.

_He's so cute, when he's blushing._ Smiling, Penny opened the door and went into her apartment.

Leonard still stood in the hall for a moment with a big smile on his face after Penny had entered her apartment and closed the door. When he was back in his own apartment the smile hadn't left his face. And when he went to bed a few minutes later, after doing his night routine, the smile spontaneously came back, because he had to think of Penny again. Preoccupied with thoughts of his new beautiful neighbor Leonard crawled under his sheets and it didn't take long until he had fallen into a deep content sleep.

* * *

_Leonard made an extra cup of coffee this morning, which he wanted to offer Penny. So, he walked over to apartment 4B to ask Penny if she was interested. He knocked, and a few seconds later a brightly smiling Penny opened the door._

_"Good morning, Leonard."_

_"Good morning. Um, I wanted to ask if you are interested..."_

_He couldn't finish his question, because all of a sudden Penny dragged him into her apartment and kicked the door shut. Seconds later Penny's lips were on Leonard's, her tongue requesting entrance to his mouth. He was so surprised by her actions, that he needed a few seconds to process what was going on. But as soon as he realized it, he began reciprocating the kiss and willingly granted Penny's request. While their tongues made contact, Penny opened the belt of Leonard's robe and started to caress his upper body. It didn't take long and her hands found their way under his t-shirt, roaming over his belly up to his chest. Penny let out a moan, as Leonard gasped for air before they continued the wild kissing. Penny's hands were all over his upper body, exploring every corner there. Suddenly without warning she ripped open his shirt and planted soft kisses on his chest, going further southwards over his belly. Leonard panted heavily, looking down at Penny who was on her knees now. Looking up at him with a mischievous grin on her face she tore down his shorts..._

A strident sound let Leonard's eyes open wide. He breathed laboredly and needed a few seconds to realize that he had dreamed. _Wow, this felt real._ He had dreamed of Penny before, but this dream was different. Grabbing his watch on the nightstand to stop the alarm, he still could feel Penny's soft lips on his body.

Forty-five minutes later Leonard was in the kitchen to have breakfast, drinking a cup of coffee and eating a bagel. Looking at the mug in his hand and thinking of the pleasant dream he had an hour ago, he decided to go over to apartment 4B to ask Penny if she wanted a cup of coffee as well.

"Where are you going?" Sheldon asked, who sat in his spot on the couch watching a morning rerun of one of his favorite Science Fiction TV shows.

"I'm going to Penny to ask her if she wants to have breakfast with us," Leonard replied and walked out in the hallway.

As chance would have it, the door of apartment 4B just opened and Penny stepped out in her Cheesecake Factory uniform.

"Oh! Good morning, Leonard," she greeted him.

"Good morning. Um, I wanted to ask if you are interested in a cup of coffee."

"Aw, that's nice. Thank you. But I'm already late for work. At another time. Okay?"

"Sure."

"Bye, Leonard. Have a nice day."

"Bye. Have a nice day too."

Smiling, and waving at Leonard, Penny hurried downstairs.

"You're not done with her, are you?" Sheldon asked, emerging behind his roommate.

Leonard didn't answer him. He just followed Penny with his eyes, a yearning expression on his face.

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again for all the reviews. I really appreciate them. Here's the third chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from ****_The Big Bang Theory_****. I don't own any of the characters.**

* * *

CHAPTER 3

Leonard stood in the kitchen and made himself a cup of coffee, when someone knocked at the apartment door. He walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. Seeing it was Penny, he immediately opened the door.

"Good morning, Leonard," she greeted him with a big smile on her face.

"Good morning," he greeted back. "To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

Penny chuckled. "Well, you invited me to a cup of coffee two days ago, if I heard you right. Here I am."

Leonard smiled. "That's what I did. Come in, please."

"Thank you." Penny stepped inside the apartment and walked towards the kitchen. She wore a pink tank top with a very low-cut neckline and white Hello Kitty shorts, that revealed her amazingly shapely legs.

Leonard really enjoyed this sight and without realizing it he gazed at Penny's attractive forms, which she noticed of course.

"Stop dreaming," she grinned.

Leonard turned as red as a beet. "Um, what? Oh, sorry...I didn't want to...um..."

"It's okay, sweetie," Penny said with a chuckle, sitting down at the kitchen island.

Leonard rushed to the coffee maker and made a cup for his neighbor from across the hall.

"Where's your peculiar roommate?" Penny asked.

"In the bathroom," Leonard answered. "And until 7:20 we are safe from him."

"7:20? And then what?"

"Then punctual to the minute he will come out of the bathroom. He never overruns his contractually-guaranteed bathroom time from 7:00-7:20 am."

Penny was baffled. "Contractually-guaranteed bathroom time?"

"Yes, it's in the roommate agreement," Leonard replied matter-of-factly.

"Roommate agreement?"

Leonard handed over a cup of coffee to Penny. "Yes, I had to sign a roommate agreement, when I moved in."

Thanking Leonard for the coffee, Penny shook her head. "This guy is a real wackadoodle."

Leonard chuckled. "Yes, he is."

They continued to have a little small talk, before Penny left ten minutes later as she had to go to work.

* * *

A few days later, on an early Saturday afternoon, Leonard came home from the supermarket, where he had bought some groceries for Sheldon and him. When he entered the apartment building he was greeted by the mailman on his way out. A few moments later Leonard stood at the mailboxes in the lobby and checked if he and Sheldon got any mail. He opened the box for apartment 4A and took out quite a few envelopes. Sorting through the mail, he saw that Penny's mail mistakenly got in their box.

Leonard hadn't seen Penny for some days because of her shift at the Cheesecake Factory. Every time when he came home from work she was already gone for her late shift. Now he had an excuse to pay her a visit. _Not that I need a reason_, he thought. _You can knock at your neighbor's door just to say hello, right? But having a reason is advantageous_. Realizing that he was starting to overthink things again, he closed the mailbox, put the envelopes in his shoulder bag, and walked upstairs to his apartment.

When Leonard entered the apartment, Sheldon stood in front of one of his whiteboards, writing down equations.

"Hi," he greeted his roommate, putting his shoulder bag on the chair in front of his desk.

Sheldon turned around and smiled radiantly. "Hello, Leonard. Look at this and freeze in awe due to my overwhelming genius."

"Why? Do you solved string theory?" he asked, once more annoyed by Sheldon's condescending tone.

"No, but I have found the ultimate solution for..."

"The ultimate solution for what?"

"Drat!" Sheldon exclaimed. "There's a mistake. How embarrassing. I never make mistakes." Taking a sponge, he completely wiped off the bottom half of the board.

"Oh, by the way. Penny's mail was mistakenly put in our box," Leonard said and just wanted to go to fridge to get some water, when he heard the sound of female laughter from out in the hall.

"Oh, what a coincidence. Sounds like Penny's home. I go over to her and give her the mail."

"Do whatever you want," Sheldon said, not looking at Leonard. "I have more important things to do than concerning myself with your trivia."

Leonard ignored Sheldon's condescending remark, took the mail for Penny from his desk and exited to hallway, looking at the envelopes in his hand. "Penny, the mailman..." He looked up and saw Penny kissing a hunky man in front of her apartment door. "Oh! Sorry."

"Oh! Hi Leonard!" she greeted him, surprised by the devastated look on Leonard's face, which let her feel very uncomfortable. "Um, this is Doug. Doug, this is my neighbor Leonard." Doug was a customer at the Cheesecake Factory and had sweet-talked Penny into going on a date with him the day before.

"What's up bro," Doug said in a voice that apparently should sound street.

"Not much. Bro," Leonard replied in the same tone of voice, which let Penny smirk.

"Is, is everything okay?" Penny asked, seeing that obviously everything wasn't okay.

"Uh, yeah, uh," Leonard stuttered. "I just...I got your mail." He handed over the mail to Penny. "Here."

She took the envelopes with a smile. "Thank you."

"No problem. Bye. Oh, and, bye, bro!" Leonard said and returned to his apartment.

Seeing Leonard slowly walking back to his apartment with his head bowed was heartbreaking. Penny suddenly didn't feel like going on a date with Doug. She had the urge to run after Leonard and ask him why he looked so dejected. Actually she had a guess why he acted like this. But before she could think about it further or do anything, Doug grabbed her hand and literally dragged her down the stairs.

* * *

Flopping down in his armchair when he had returned to apartment 4A, Leonard felt like someone had punched him in the gut. While Sheldon still worked on his board, not noticing his roommate's mood of dejection, Leonard closed his eyes and wished this day was over. For the next few hours he more or less just sat in his armchair and apathetically stared into space.

When it was time for dinner, he hardly touched his food, as the sight of Penny with Doug had spoiled his appetite. So, he excused himself and went to bed early, rejecting an offer from Sheldon to play some video games. As he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, Leonard cursed himself for thinking, he would have a chance with Penny. It was true. A girl like her would never consider a date with someone like him. But as much as he tried to persuade himself, he could not help but feel bad. What has happened? Why did he feel so bad? Had he fallen for Penny? With these constantly recurring thoughts he fell in a restless sleep, plagued by dreams of Penny making out with other men, while he was just a bystander.

* * *

Despite the disappointment when Leonard saw Penny with another guy, he and Penny still had many encounters. He helped her quite a few times when she had problems with her computer or other technical issues. On one occasion he could restore a shopping cart full of fancy shoes from an internet retailer after her computer crashed, which resulted in a long hug and a shower of cheek kisses from Penny.

A few weeks after Penny moved into the building, she also had become a regular guest in apartment 4A at dinner time when she had not to work the late shift at the Cheesecake factory. While Leonard immensely enjoyed Penny's presence at his place and the friendship he had formed with his beautiful neighbor, he couldn't get the fact out of his head that she was dating this Doug guy. It still bothered him, but he did everything to be a good friend and didn't let it show.

Although Leonard knew that Penny dated someone, he wanted to see her as much as possible, so one day he suggested to relocate their dining out on Tuesday from Big Boy to the Cheesecake Factory. After a great deal of coaxing Leonard could persuade Sheldon to give it at least a try.

Penny was pleasantly surprised when Leonard and Sheldon showed up at the Cheescake factory for the first time. Smiling brightly, she greeted the two men who sat across from each other at a table. "Hi, guys! What brings you two in here?"

"Hi, Penny," Leonard greeted back. "Well, we thought we try something new."

"You thought we should try something new," Sheldon grumbled. "I never wanted to be here."

Penny ignored Sheldon's grumpy remark, handed out the menus and took out a pad from the pocket of her apron. "Aw, that's nice. What would you like to drink?"

"A coke please," Leonard answered.

After noting Leonard's order Penny looked at Sheldon. "And for you?"

"Water will do. Your coke is probably just dark colored dishwater," he said contemptuously.

Penny rolled with her eyes. "It's regular coke, just like in all other restaurants."

Sheldon sniffed. "Hmm, if you say so. Then a coke for me too, please. I'll see if you have lied to me."

Penny shook her head and noted the order from the lanky theoretical physicist. "Alright, I'll be right back with your drinks. In the meantime have a look at the menus, so I can take your food orders." With a smile she turned on her heel and walked to the restaurant kitchen.

After serving the drinks, Penny was back at the table again to note the food orders. "You guys ready to order?"

"Chicken nuggets and fries," Leonard said, giving her the menu back.

Smiling at him, Penny took the menu and noted his order. "Alright, thank you." Then she turned towards Sheldon. "And what about you?"

Sheldon looked lost. "I can't decide. We never ate here. I don't know what's good."

"Well, everything's good," Penny said.

Sheldon scoffed. "That's statistically unlikely."

"Just get a hamburger. You like hamburgers," Leonard suggested.

Sheldon glared at Leonard. "I like the hamburgers where we usually have hamburgers. You can't make the assumption that I'll like the hamburgers here."

Leonard looked at Penny with an apologizing expression on his face. "I'm sorry. Give him a hamburger."

"Um, which one? The Classic Burger, the Ranch House Burger, the Barbecue Burger or the Kobe burger?" she asked.

"Can't we just go to Big Boy?" Sheldon implored Leonard. "They only have one burger. The Big Boy."

"Oh, the Barbecue Burger is like the Big Boy," Penny said.

Sheldon looked at her. "Excuse me, in a world that already includes the Big Boy, why would I settle for something like a Big Boy?" he asked Penny in a condescending tone.

Penny was losing her patience with Sheldon. "Because you are not at Big Boy!" she exclaimed, almost yelling.

Sheldon was baffled by Penny's outburst. "Fine, I'll have the Barbecue Burger."

Darting an annoyed look at Sheldon, Penny took the menu from him. Giving Leonard a sweet smile that let him blush, she turned around and went to the kitchen.

"Waitresses don't yell at you at Big Boy," Sheldon said, sounding as if he was offended.

As the evening progressed, Penny repeatedly took the time to go to Leonard and Sheldon's table to talk to the two men and to make sure that everything was okay. Sheldon even liked the Barbecue Burger so much, that he decided to alter his strict schedule when it came to dinner. From now on they would dine out at the Cheescake Factory every Tuesday.

For Leonard it was a really enjoyable evening, as Penny was in a very flirty mood towards him, all the while seeking eye contact, smiling at him and casually touching his arms and shoulders. Her behaviour let Leonard think, that maybe she had ended things with Doug again.

* * *

It was an late afternoon in mid October and Leonard stood at the kitchen island, making himself a sandwich, when he suddenly heard a loud buzz in the hallway. He recognized Penny's voice and a male voice, both sounding very agitated. Penny was apparently fighting with someone. A few seconds later a door was slammed shut with a loud bang, which let Leonard wince. He went to the apartment door and looked through the spyhole and saw that Doug was standing in the hallway in front of Penny's apartment.

"Come, on. Penny, please. I'm sorry," Doug said in a pleading tone.

"Go away! I never want to see you again," Penny shouted through her closed apartment door.

Doug knocked on Penny's door, but when there was no reaction he lowered his head, turned around and walked towards the stairs.

Once Leonard was sure that Doug was gone, he slowly opened the door and stepped into the hall. He wondered if he should talk to Penny about what has happened. After some thinking, he decided to knock on her door.

"I said, go away!" Penny yelled.

"Um, it's me. Leonard."

"Oh, sorry. Not now, sweetie. I wanna be alone."

"Okay." Leonard turned around and was about to return to his apartment, when he heard Penny again.

"Leonard, wait. Please come in."

He cautiously opened the door and peeked inside Penny's apartment. She sat on her turquoise couch, with her legs bent on it. Leonard could tell, that she had cried. Her eyes were puffy with dark smudgy mascara underneath them.

Penny patted on the empty spot on the couch next to her. "Have a seat, please."

Leonard stepped inside the apartment and closed the door behind him. Slowly, he walked over to the couch and took a seat.

"I must look awful," Penny said, trying to wipe away the makeup that was scrawled over her cheekbones.

Leonard took a tissue out of a box that stood on the coffee table and gave it to Penny. "What happened?" he asked.

Thanking Leonard, Penny took the tissue and cleaned her face as best she could. "Well, I just came home from the Cheesecake Factory, had parked my car and went to the gas station across the street, because I needed some crushed ice. To cut a long story short, I saw Doug next to his car passionately making out with another woman."

"Oh, that's terrible. I am so sorry," Leonard said compassionately.

"And guess what!" Penny continued. "When I approached him to confront him, I couldn't miss hearing, how he said to her that sex was amazing last night. So, he did not only kiss another woman, he had already slept with her. How could he do that?" She paused for a moment as tears started to well up again. "It has happened again. I have been cheated once again. After two effing weeks. Looks like I can only meet guys who cheat on me sooner or later. Obviously, I'm just worthless trash that can be disposed of after a while."

Some tears were rolling down her face now, so Leonard quickly took another tissue and handed it over to Penny. "No!" he protested. "Don't say that. That's not true. I'm sure some day you'll find the right guy who is faithful and honest and cares for you."

Penny dabbed off the tears on her cheeks. "I hope you're right."

Leonard nodded. "Of course," he assured her. "You are a wonderful person. Inside and outside."

"Aww, Leonard!" With a bright smile on her face Penny leaned over and engulfed Leonard in a hug.

As they were in each other's arms, Leonard wished he could tell Penny that the right guy for her was sitting on her couch. Right now, at this very moment.

When Penny pulled away, she planted a firm kiss on Leonard's cheek.

"Doug was an idiot anyway," Penny suddenly said after a few seconds of content silence. "Actually, I am glad that I got rid of him."

Leonard was surprised. "Really?"

Penny nodded. "Yeah. To tell you the truth. I should have dumped him on the first day we went out on a date, because he was so mean. He said you were weird for bringing over allegedly misallocated mail, since this was just a trick to excuse a visit at my place."

"Your mail really got mistakenly in our box," Leonard insisted.

Penny laid a hand on Leonard's arm and smiled at him. "Of course. I've never doubt that. I defended you, saying you are a really sweet guy."

Leonard blushed heavily and looked shyly at the floor. "Nah!"

Penny had to smile. Leonard was so cute when he blushed. "Yes, you are." She paused for a few seconds before she continued. "Well, I didn't dump him that night, because he buttered me up. And stupid as I am I fell for it."

"You're not stupid," Leonard objected.

Penny smiled. "Well, in comparison to you or Sheldon I am."

"No, that's not true," Leonard countered. "We just have a different education. That's all. I may know a lot about physics, but I'm totally clueless when it comes to sports."

Penny didn't look entirely convinced.

Leonard saw her doubting face. "What I'm trying to say is, everyone has strengths and weaknesses. And you are not stupid. Please, don't ever think that."

"You really know what to say to cheer me up," Penny said. "I feel a whole lot better now. Thank you, for being such a good friend."

"You're welcome," he blushed. "That's what friends are for."

Penny smiled brightly. "I enjoy the talks with you so much. I'm glad you are in my life."

Leonard savored these words. They made him happy. "Same here!"

"You know, I never had someone who lent me an ear. At least not in a way that I felt taken seriously," Penny said. "Do you know what I mean?"

Leonard nodded. "But what about your parents, your siblings or your best friend?"

"Well, I never had truly meaningful talks with my parents. And in addition I actually never had the urge to talk to my parents when I had problems regarding school or, um, well...girl stuff. The same is true of Randall and Lisa, my brother and sister. Randall was only interested in, well, let's say producing things that are not exactly within the law, and Lisa always had her head in the clouds. Don't get me wrong, she is a great big sister, but a really serious talk was not possible with her." Penny paused for a moment. "And my friends? Well, to be honest, they are not really the kind of people you have serious and profound talks with," she chuckled.

"I see. Well, I'm always there for you when you need someone to lend you an ear," Leonard smilingly said.

"Thanks, you're the best." Penny leaned over and gave Leonard another kiss on his cheek, which naturally let him blush again.

Leonard looked at his watch. "Oh, it's almost six o'clock. I have to get the take-out meals for our dinner tonight." He got up from the couch and went to the door. "Are you coming over for dinner?"

Penny nodded. "Sure," she answered.

"Great, see you later."

"Yeah, see you later," Penny said with a smile.

Smiling back, Leonard opened the door, stepped out in the hallway and went back to his apartment. Having received two cheek kisses, a hug and a lot of nice words from the beautiful girl across the hall let him float on his way in a sense.

* * *

As soon as Leonard had left her apartment, Penny had to think about his words. _Some day you'll find the right guy. The right guy._ What if Leonard was the right guy for her? He was so different than the guys she used to go out with. But different in a good way. He was cute, he was smart and friendly, always helpful when she had a problem with her computer or any other technical issue. And from what she had learned about him in the talks since they met, he was a sincere and honest man. Only good traits were combined in him. And she really liked him. She felt so comfortable in his company. But then again, would a smart guy with an academic education like Leonard not lose interest in a girl like her very soon? She was just a waitress, a party girl. Shrugging, she discarded these thoughts for now and went to the bathroom to have a shower.

**To be continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to all who take the time to write a review. Here's the fourth chapter. I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from ****_The Big Bang Theory_****. I don't own any of the characters.**

* * *

CHAPTER 4

October was drawing to a close. While in other places leaf piles were forming beneath colorful trees, the city of Pasadena experienced a veritable heat wave. The only thing reminding that is was actually autumn were the Halloween decorations inside the stores.

Leonard was in the laundry room, emptying the dryer when Penny came in.

"Hi, Leonard," she greeted her neighbor.

"Oh! Hi, Penny," he greeted back.

Smiling at Leonard, she put down her clothes basket on one of the washing mashines. "Oh hey! I'm having a party next Saturday. So, if you and the guys are around you should come by."

"A party?"

"Yeah. A Halloween party. It'll just be a bunch of my friends. We'll have some beer, do a little dancing."

Leonard was hesitant. "Um, I don't know. But thanks for the invitation."

"Aw, come on. It will be fun." Since Leonard was reluctant to accept the invitation, Penny tried to encourage him. "We could wear couple costumes. Just for fun," she winked.

Leonard chuckled, knowing that Penny certainly wasn't serious about that. "Is there a theme?" he asked.

"There's no theme," Penny replied. "Wear whatever you like."

"Okay, I ask Sheldon, Howard and Raj."

"Great."

While Penny started to stuff her clothes into the washing machine, Leonard stood at a table, folded his laundry and put it into his clothes basket. "You know, this would be my first Halloween party."

Penny was surprised. "Really?

"Yeah, party invitations are a great rarity for me," he answered.

"Well, then get used to regular party invitations from now on," Penny said with a big smile.

Leonard chuckled. "Don't bother! I'm not the person who enjoys going to parties anyway."

"Ha! I will turn you into a party animal," Penny said, nudging him playfully with her elbow.

Leonard had to chuckle again. "Okay, I guess it's worth a try."

They continued to have a little small talk, before Leonard left the room and went back to his apartment.

* * *

Saturday approached fast, and since Sheldon, Howard and Raj enjoyed wearing costumes they immediately agreed to come to Penny's party when Leonard informed them about the invitation.

At 7:05 pm Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj stood in front of Penny's apartment in their costumes. Leonard was Frodo from Lord of the Rings, Sheldon was the Doppler Effect, Howard was Robin Hood, although the others thought he was Peter Pan, and Raj was Thor. The one from Norse mythology, not the character from the Marvel comics.

Howard knocked, and a few seconds later Penny opened the door with a surprised expression on her face. "Oh, hey guys."

"Hi! Sorry we're late," Leonard apologized.

Penny was puzzled. "Late? It's 7:05."

"We were told the party starts at seven," Sheldon said.

"Well, yeah," Penny replied. "But when you start a party at seven, no-one shows up at...you know...seven."

"It's 7:05," Sheldon stated with a smug grin on his face.

Penny smiled awkwardly. "Yes. Yes it is. Okay. Well, um, come on in."

Following Penny's prompt the four men entered her apartment and looked around.

"What? Are all the girls in the bathroom?" Howard asked.

"Probably, but in their own homes," Penny answered.

"So, at what time does the costume parade start?" Sheldon wanted to know.

Penny was puzzled again. "The parade?"

"Yes! So the judges can give out the prizes for best costume, you know, most frightening, most authentic, most accurate visual representation of a scientific principle," Sheldon elucidated.

"Oh, Sheldon, I'm sorry. But there aren't going to be any parades or judges or prizes," Penny said apologetically.

"This party is just going to suck," Sheldon exclaimed disappointedly.

Penny tried to be placating. "No, come on. It's going to be fun, and you all look great. I mean, look at you, Thor, and, oh, Peter Pan, that's so cute."

Leonard wanted to correct her. "Actually, Penny, he's Rob..."

Howard interrupted him. "I'm Peter Pan! And I've got a handful of pixie dust with your name on it," he said, raising his brows in a saucy manner and pretending to blow said pixie dust at Penny.

Penny quickly shot down, what was just another one of Howard's creepy advances towards her. "No, you don't." Turning to Leonard, she asked him about his roommate's streaky costume. "Oh, hey! What's Sheldon supposed to be?"

"Oh, he's the Doppler Effect."

"Yes. It's the apparent change in the frequency of a wave caused by relative motion between the source of the wave and the observer," Sheldon explained.

"Oh, sure. I see it now. The Doppler Effect," Penny said, rolling her eyes. "Alright, I've got to shower," she continued. "You guys make yourselves comfortable."

While Penny went to her bathroom, the four guys settled down on the couch, waiting for the party to start.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Penny came out of her bedroom, wearing a sexy cat costume and fitting makeup to it. Leonard had to gulp, when he saw her. She looked amazing. Of course Howard couldn't refrain from making a lewd remark about her costume which Penny just answered with an annoyed eye roll.

Shortly afterwards the first guests arrived and a few hours later the party was in full swing, with music playing and people dancing, drinking and eating snacks. Quite a few people had gathered in Penny's small apartment, which was full to bursting point, so the party was expanded into the hallway too. Leonard, Sheldon, Howard and Raj still sat on the couch, looking a little bit lost, obviously not willing to mingle with the crowd.

But eventually Leonard had enough from sitting around and got up from the couch to talk to Penny, who stood at the apartment door, talking to another girl. He walked up to her and was about to tap her on the shoulder when suddenly a very tall, buff man with a clean-shaven head appeared, only wearing a loincloth. Apparently he was supposed to be Tarzan.

Leonard involuntarily flinched by the tall man's intimidating appearance while Penny greeted him warmly, hugging him with a smile on her face.

Only in this moment Penny noticed that Leonard stood behind her. "Oh, hey Leonard. Are you having a good time?"

Leonard nodded. "Sure."

"Oh, this is Kurt. Kurt, this is Leonard. My neighbor from across the hall."

Leonard was taken aback. _Penny's ex-boyfriend? What is he doing here? Why would she invite him?_ "Um. Hi, Kurt! Nice to meet you."

Instead of returning the greeting, Kurt just grinned arrogantly. "What are you supposed to be? An Elf?"

"No, I'm a Hobbit."

"What's the difference?"

"Well, a Hobbit is a mortal Halfling inhabitant of Middle Earth, whereas an Elf is an immortal tall warrior," Leonard replied.

"So why the hell would you want to be a Hobbit?" Kurt asked derisively.

Leonard was about to give him an answer, when Kurt cut him short. "Forget it, I don't care. So why don't you go hop off on a quest? I wanna talk to Penny."

"I think we all here wanna talk to Penny," Leonard countered.

"Okay, it seems you didn't understand me. Get lost!" Kurt exclaimed.

Penny tried to calm down the situation that was beginning to get tense. "Alright Kurt. Be nice."

"Aw, I am nice. I am the kindness in person. Right my little friend?" he said, smiling mockingly while mussing up Leonard's curly hair.

"Kurt! Stop it!" Penny almost shouted, which caused quite a few heads to turn into their direction.

Kurt raised his hands, playing little innocent. "Hey, we're just having a little fun."

Leonard tried to redo his hair, which were a total mess now. "Well, looks like all the things Penny told me about you are true," he blurted out, though saying it more to himself than to Kurt.

But he had heard Leonard's remark. Narrowing his eyes, he angrily looked at him. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

Leonard inwardly cursed himself for saying aloud what he actually just thought regarding Kurt. He didn't want to get Penny in trouble. "Nothing. It means nothing," he tried to appease Kurt.

"What. Did. She. Say?" he wanted to know, emphasizing each word.

Sensing an obvious aggressive tone in Kurt's voice now, Leonard wanted to calm down the situation. "Really, she said nothing. It just blurted out of me. As I said, it means nothing."

But Kurt didn't want to let go. "Tell me you gnome, or I'll beat it out of you," he threatened.

Penny was really concerned now that this conversation could get out of hand. "Kurt, please. Stop it! Leave him alone!"

He glared at Penny. "Stay out of this! That's between me and this little dwarf here."

Although Leonard was still intimidated by Kurt's physical presence and his aggressive tone, he now wasn't willing to put up with his insults, even if it meant to add fuel to the fire. He had to stand up for himself. "No, Penny. It's okay. I can handle this. I'm not a gnome or a dwarf. I'm a Hobbit. A Hobbit. Are misfiring neurons in your hippocampus preventing the conversion from short-term to long-term memory?"

While Kurt wasn't exactly a bright light, he did understand what Leonard was saying. "Okay, now you've made me really mad. Enough is enough." He grabbed Leonard and put a stranglehold on him.

Penny started yelling. "Kurt! Let him go!"

"He started it."

"I don't care. I'm finishing it. Let him go! At once!"

"Fine," Kurt said, releasing Leonard from his stranglehold and shoved him away. "You're one lucky little leprechaun."

Penny immediately ran over to Leonard. "Sweetie, are you okay?"

Leonard played down the issue. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Penny was really upset because of what had happened. "I'm so sorry."

Leonard smiled awkwardly. "Nah. It's okay." He adjusted his costume that was quite crinkled. "Well, Penny, this is a great party. Thanks for having us. But it's getting a little late, so I think I'm heading for home." Making a gesture in the direction of Sheldon, who still sat on the couch, he indicated that he wanted to go.

Now Penny was even more upset. She didn't want Leonard to leave her party because of this incident with Kurt. "Aw, please stay."

Sheldon now stood next to Leonard. "You want to go?"

"Yes, it's getting late."

"Not really. For a Saturday evening it's quite early and given that this is a party it's really quite early. I think the reason you want to go is the humiliating encounter with this tall half-naked man we all here had to witness."

"No, the reason is that it's getting late," Leonard said with clenched teeth. "As I said, great party and thanks for having us."

Penny was dejected. "Alright. Well, thank you for coming."

Leonard and Sheldon said goodbye and went back to their apartment, leaving behind a sad Penny. Deep in thoughts she looked at the door of apartment 4A, when suddenly a very tipsy Cheryl, her fellow waitress from the Cheesecake Factory, tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey, Penny. What's the name of this brown-skinned guy who wears this helmet with wings?"

* * *

Leonard sat down on the couch and took off his fake Hobbit ears. While his encounter with Kurt was upsetting, it was another thing that was on his mind and that really bothered him. Why was Kurt at Penny's party in the first place? She told him she never wanted to see this lying, cheating jerk again, and now he was at her party. He couldn't get it in his head. Were they back together, or on their way to get back together?

Leonard was pulled out of his thoughts, when Sheldon brought him a cup of tea. "What's that?" he asked.

"Tea. When people are upset the cultural convention is to bring them hot beverages," his roommate answered.

Slightly puzzled Leonard took the cup of tea, whereupon Sheldon patted his shoulder to comfort him. "There there. You want to talk about it?"

Leonard shook his head. "No."

Sheldon was relieved. "Good. 'There there' was really all I had."

Leonard looked at Sheldon with a slightly annoyed facial expression. "Good night, Sheldon."

"Good night, Leonard."

While Sheldon went to his bedroom, Leonard put the teacup on the coffee table and stared at the floor, lost in thought. Just in this moment there was a knocking on the door. He looked up and to his surprise Penny entered the apartment.

"Hey Leonard."

"Hi Penny."

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Don't worry. I'm fine."

Walking over to Leonard, Penny could see that Leonard wasn't fine. "I'm so sorry because of what happened," she apologized.

Leonard shook his head. "Nah! It's not your fault."

Penny sat down on the couch next to Leonard. "Yes it is," she said. "That's why I broke up with him, he always does stuff like that."

"So why was he at your party?" he asked, hoping to finally get an answer to a question he asked himself all the while since Kurt showed up.

"Well, I ran into him last week at the grocery," she began to answer. "He was all apologetic and told me about how he has changed. He was just going on and on and I believed him." Tears began to well up in Penny's eyes. "And I'm an idiot because I always believe guys like that. And now I can't go back to my party because he's there." The first tears were now rolling down her cheeks. "I know you don't want to hear this and I'm upset and angry with Kurt and with myself and I, I just want to..." She couldn't finish her sentence, as she bursted into tears, burying her head into Leonard's shoulder.

Leonard didn't know what to do. He didn't expect a situation like this. So, he reluctantly patted Penny's shoulder, trying to comfort her.

Penny downright melted into Leonard. This was exactly what she needed in this moment. A shoulder to cry on. "God, what is wrong with me?"

"Nothing is wrong with you. Remember what I told you a few weeks ago. You are a wonderful person. Inside and outside. You're perfect," Leonard said.

"No, I'm not perfect," she objected to his last sentence.

"Yes you are," he insisted.

Penny looked into Leonard's warm brown eyes. She could see that he was really serious about it. "Do you really think so?"

Leonard just nodded.

A wave of affection rushed through Penny. She had the irresistible urge to kiss Leonard. And within one second she gave in to that urge and just kissed him. It wasn't a passionate kiss, but it was a meaningful kiss. It took Leonard a few moments to realize what just had happened, but as soon as he was aware of what was going on, he reciprocated the kiss, placing a hand on Penny's shoulder. They didn't know how long the kiss lasted, but they savored every second. And when they broke the kiss they looked deeply into each other's eyes, both yearning to continue the kissing.

So it was only seconds later, when Penny's lips crashed on Leonard's again. And this time Leonard reciprocated immediately. It started slow and tender, with Penny's arms around Leonard's neck, while Leonard had wrapped his arms around Penny's waist. With each second their kissing became more passionate, and it didn't take long until Leonard could feel Penny's tongue on his lips. He slightly opened his mouth, which didn't go unnoticed by Penny, whose tongue now slowly seeked contact with Leonard's. The sensation when her tongue touched his let him tremble with excitement and sent a pleasant chill down his spine. It felt marvelous. After a while their kissing came to a natural end, when they both had to gasp for air.

Leonard breathed laboredly. "Penny?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure that you being upset and angry with Kurt doesn't have something to do with what's going on here?" Leonard asked, followed by a shy smile.

She had to think about it. "It might. But it also has something to do with the fact that I really like you."

Penny started to caress Leonard's upper body tenderly, which sent blissful sensations through his body. He felt flattered and he couldn't deny that he was aroused. Just like Penny was aroused. He could see it in her eyes. If he would let things take its course, they would definitely end up in bed together. But he didn't want to take advantage of this situation. If it's supposed to happen, it should happen for the right reasons, he thought.

"Um, Penny, don't you think we should stop here? I don't wanna do something that could put our friendship at risk."

Penny sighed. "I think you're right. I don't wanna put our friendship at risk either. A friendship is too valuable too jeopardize it."

Leonard smiled and gave Penny a tissue, so she could dab the smudgy mascara on her cheeks. "This is the second time I give you a tissue so you can clean your face."

Penny had to chuckle. "Yeah. Looks like this is our thing." She paused for a few seconds, taking his hands into hers. "Leonard, you're a great guy. Why can't all guys be like you?"

"Because if all guys were like me, the human race couldn't survive," he replied, which let Penny chuckle again.

"I should go now."

Leonard nodded. "Okay."

They both got up from the couch and went to the apartment door. Penny opened it, but turned around again while standing in the doorway to look at Leonard. "Thank you."

Leonard just shrugged his shoulders, whereupon Penny cupped his face with both hands and gave him another kiss on the lips, which didn't go unnoticed by Kurt, who stood on the stairs that led to the upper floors.

While Penny went back to her apartment, Kurt looked at Leonard with a puzzled expression on his face.

Leonard returned the look. "That's right. You saw what you saw. That's how we roll in The Shire," he said not without some gratification. Then he quickly closed the door, locked it and applied a door chain.

"I did the right thing," he said to himself. Not under any circumstances Leonard wanted to jeopardize the friendship he had with Penny. Preoccupied with thoughts of Penny he went to his bedroom and made himself ready to go to sleep.

* * *

The Halloween party at Penny's place continued for a while. Penny was still upset about Kurt's behavior and how he had treated Leoanrd, so the first thing she did when she was back in her apartment was sending him home. Initially Kurt refused to go, but when Penny threatened to go all Nebraska on him, he eventually left. Not without cursing and swearing course, but he left. And as it turned out, not just Penny was happy about Kurt leaving the party.

More or less still sober up to that point, Penny thought it was finally time to take the party to the next level. That meant it was time for some drinking games. Competetive as Penny was, she strived for winning all the games. And she did. As a result she had to throw up in a pumpkin amid the cheering of the party guests.

The next morning Penny woke up with a massive hangover. Somehow she managed to crawl out of her bed so she could look for something against the hammering pain inside her head. But first she had to relieve herself, so more swaying than walking she went to the bathroom. Fortunately there were headache pills inside the cabinet above the sink. Taking one with some gulps of water she looked into the mirror of the cabinet and thought herself back to the events of the previous evening. A smile flashed over her face, when she thought of Leonard and the kissing in his apartment.

When Penny came out of her bathroom she flopped down on her bed and almost immediately fell asleep. About six hours later she woke up, feeling considerably better. She sat up and swang her legs to the right side of the bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she took a sip from the bottle of water that stood on her nightstand. Taking a deep breath, Penny got up and went to the bathroom to take a bath.

Coming out of the bathtub thirty minutes later, Penny felt pretty hungry. It was late afternoon, and a little meal was exactly what she needed now. But she was about to get a headache again when she saw how her apartment looked like. It was as if a bomb had exploded. Not feeling like tidying up, she just shoved away the stuff on her kitchen island, took a pan and made herself some scrambled eggs.

A few minutes later her meal was ready. She sat down at her table by the window and looked at the setting sun. She had to think about what had happened last night with Leonard. She would have slept with him, but he didn't take advantage of the situation. He was the perfect gentleman. And again those thoughts came up. _What if he is the right guy for me? I'm clearly attracted to him, but still I don't make a move to do something. As if there's something inside of me that obstructs me. What is wrong with me?_ These thoughts didn't let go of her. Penny couldn't get Leonard out of her head.

**A/N: End of chapter 4. Tomorrow I will post the fifth and final chapter of this story. Stay tuned! ;)  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, today is the day of the series finale of The Big Bang Theory. And here's the fifth and final chapter of this story. I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from _The Big Bang Theory_. I don't own any of the characters.**

* * *

CHAPTER 5

Penny sat on a bench in the park near her apartment building and listened to music on her iPod. She always sat down there when she had finished her jogging on Saturdays, before heading for home. The temperatures were in the lower seventies and the sun was shining from a cloudless sky, so you could easily forget that it was late November. On the other hand, this weather was not really exceptional for a city in Southern California. Through the trees on the other side of the lawn in front of her, Penny could see that some stores had begun to install Christmas decorations. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and leaned back, savoring the pleasantly warm breeze on this late autumn afternoon. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a familiar person walking towards her. It was Leonard, smiling from ear to ear. He held something that looked like a kite.

Penny removed the in-ear headphones of her iPod and smiled back at her neighbor from across the hall. "Hey, Leonard. What are you doing here?"

"Hi, Penny," the experimental physicist greeted her. "I was heading out for some kite fighting with the guys."

Penny was baffled. "Kite fighting?"

"Oh, yeah. It's an extremely competitive, cutthroat sport," Leonard replied resolutely.

"I see," Penny chuckled.

"Next time you should come watch," Leonard proposed.

Penny nodded. "Absolutely."

Leonard raised a brow. "Do I sense some sarcasm here?"

"Not at all. The next time you guys do kite fighting, I'll come watch and cheer for you," Penny grinned.

Leonard chuckled. "Alrighty. Well, we were on our way back to the apartment, when I saw you sitting here. Are you coming over for dinner later?"

"Sure. I'd love to!" Penny answered.

"Great. See you later!"

As Leonard walked away, Penny couldn't help but smile. She really liked him, she liked his nature, she liked the way he was talking to her, she liked his smile, she liked his eyes. She always felt so comfortable when he was around. And again this one thought crossed her mind. _What if he is the right guy for me?_ A thought that was stuck in her mind for quite some time now. But she couldn't ask herself 'what if' for the rest of her life. She had to do something. She had to find out if he is the right guy, not just thinking about it. Or someone else would find it out._  
_

* * *

A few days later, when Penny came home from the Cheesecake Factory she ran into Leonard when she entered the lobby of the apartment building.

"Hi Leonard," she greeted him.

"Hi Penny."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm on my way to the grocery store."

"Well, have fun."

Leonard chuckled. "I will. The fun factor, when you buy oatmeal and cornflakes is really underrated."

Penny had to laugh. "Absolutely. Oh, hey. Before I forget it. I will go to the Holiday market in Old Pasadena tomorrow to shop for Christmas gifts. I wanted to go with my friend Cheryl from the Cheesecake Factory, but she had to cancel. Um, maybe you want to accompany me instead?"

Leonard didn't have to think twice. "Sure, why not. Sounds like fun."

Penny beamed. "Cool. Well, I thought about going at 12 pm, so we can have lunch first and afterwards we go to the market."

"Sounds good," Leonard replied. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Alright. Well, see you tomorrow," Penny said and gave Leonard a kiss on his cheek.

As always when Leonard received this kind of affection by Penny he blushed heavily. "Um, yeah, see you tomorrow."

Smiling at her neighbor, Penny walked up the stairs, while Leonard looked after her with a dreamy expression on his face. He really looked forward to the next day.

* * *

Leonard didn't know why. But he was a little nervous, when he knocked at the door of Penny's apartment the next day. _This isn't a date_, he said to himself. _We're just going to a Holiday market together. As friends._ It didn't take long and the door opened, revealing a beaming Penny. She asked Leonard in and offered him a seat on the couch.

"Sorry, I'm not ready yet," Penny apologized.

"No problem," Leonard said. "The market is not running away. Take your time."

"Can I offer you something to drink?" Penny asked.

"No, thanks," Leonard replied. "I'll drink something when we have lunch."

Penny nodded with a smile and went into her bedroom, returning ten minutes later. "Okay, Mister Hofstadter. Let's go."

Leonard chuckled and got up from the couch. They left the apartment and walked down the stairs. Outside the building they got in Leonard's car and drove to a diner in Old Pasadena, that Penny found on the internet.

Eating little snacks and engaging in smalltalk, time flew by rather quickly, so it was almost two o'clock when they arrived at the Holly Street, the site of the Holiday market. The tree-lined street with historic brick buildings along each side provided a really nice setting for the event. Vendors occupied white tents on the street, and offered their goods.

Strolling along the tents, Penny found some nice things she bought as Christmas gifts. After two hours every tent was surveyed, so Leonard and Penny decided to leave the market.

Standing in front of Leonard's car, Penny was a little disappointed that they were already heading for home. "It's only four o'clock. Way too early to go back home."

"Well, any ideas what we could do?" Leonard asked.

Penny thought hard for a while. Then she saw an advertisement poster for the Pacific Park in Santa Monica out of the corner of her eye. "Hmm, we could go to the Santa Monica Pier," she suggested.

Leonard seemed hesistant. "The Santa Monica Pier? I don't know."

"Aw, come on. The weather is so nice. You'll like it. I promise," Penny tried to persuade him.

Leonard thought about it. A walk at the beach with Penny was actually something he would surely enjoy, so after a few seconds he nodded with a smile on his face. "Okay, let's drive to the Santa Monica Pier."

Beaming, Penny made a little jump and clapped her hands. "Yay!"

* * *

It took a while to drive from Pasadena to Santa Monica, but fortunately the traffic was tolerable. When they arrived it was already getting dark, so the pier was ablazed with light. Countless lights let the place look downright magical. The illuminated ferris wheel and the roller coaster of the Pacific Park were impressive. It really looked wonderful.

Leonard and Penny stood on the pier, enjoying the lights and the mild breeze from the sea. The beach in front of the pier was almost empty on this evening in early December.

"Let's walk along the beach," Penny said and linked arms with Leonard. As they walked along the pier, Penny smiled at Leonard, which let him blush and sent a warm and fuzzy feeling through his body. Leonard shyly smiled back, which let Penny blush as well. And just like Leonard she had this warm and fuzzy feeling, that was so pleasant. But there was more. Penny also felt something that was commonly known as having butterflies in one's tummy. She couldn't deny it. She felt something for Leonard that obviously went beyond pure friendship.

Not sure how to handle this feelings, Penny fell into deep thoughts, which didn't go unnoticed by Leonard after a while.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

Penny was pulled out of her thoughts by Leonard's question. "Umm, what?"

"Everything all right?" he asked again. "You are so quiet all of a sudden."

"Oh, yeah. Sure," Penny replied. "I was just thinking about something."

Right in this moment they arrived a flight of stairs which led down from the pier to the beach. Walking down the stairs they stepped on the beach moments later. For the next ten minutes Leonard and Penny walked along the almost empty beach in comfortable silence. The gentle rushing of the surf, the quiet background noise from the pier and the amusement park and the blaze of light caused an almost surreal atmosphere. From time to time they looked at each other with shy smiles on their faces. Every eye contact elicited an inevitable blushing on both of their cheeks, but also a pleasant tingling in their stomachs.

"Let's sit down for a while," Leonard said, when he started to feel a little bit heavy-legged.

Penny nodded. "Oh, okay. That's a good idea."

Leonard and Penny sat down next to each other and looked out at the ocean, that lay in front of them like a shimmering silver plate.

"Can you see the stars reflecting on the water?" Leonard asked.

"Yes," Penny replied. "It's beautiful. I really like the atmosphere. It's so peaceful."

"Absolutely," Leonard agreed.

"You know, I'm glad to be here with you. I'm really enjoying this," Penny said.

Leonard smiled, savoring her words. "I'm enjoying this too." He looked at Penny who began to shiver a little. "Are you cold?"

"A little bit," she replied. "Looks like the cardigan I'm wearing is too thin."

"Hold on!" Leonard took off his hoodie and put it around Penny's shoulders.

"Aw, Leonard. Thanks, you're a real gentleman." Bending sidewards, she gave him a kiss on his cheek.

For the next few minutes they just sat there on the beach in comfortable silence, looking at the sea and the stars above it. Looking at each other from time to time, a smile flashed over both of their faces each time. Both felt a deep amicable affection for one another in these moments, and both enjoyed this feeling immensely.

It was Leonard who broke the silence at some point. "Um, Penny. Can I ask you something?"

She looked at him. "Sure."

"Well, actually it's not a question. Rather an observation."

"An observation?"

"Yes. Um, you seemed deep in thoughts earlier, when we walked on the pier."

"Well, yeah. You're right. I was deep in thoughts," Penny said. "I thought about making changes in my life." She paused for a few moments and turned to Leonard who intently looked looked at her. "I made so many wrong decisions, you know. I think it's time to reconsider some things."

"For example?" Leonard asked.

"For example the kind of guys I usually go out with," Penny explained. "My usual choices have not really worked out so well. In fact, every guy I dated cheated on me. But I'm done with those guys. You know, those tall, buff guys who spent most of their time in the gym. I really don't know what I saw in them. I guess it was just infatuation."

Penny continued. "You know, I would like to go out with someone who is nice, and honest, and who actually cares about me." She turned to Leonard and looked shyly at him. "With someone like you."

Leonard was flabbergasted. He had to process what just happened. Penny was interested in going out with him?

"You look surprised," Penny said.

"I am, to be honest," Leonard replied. "And I fear this is just a dream. I fear, I wake up every moment and all this is not happening."

Penny smiled and leaned forward. Cupping his cheeks with her hands, she gave Leonard a kiss on his lips. It wasn't a long, passionate kiss, but it was a meaningful kiss. A tender kiss, that sent a blissful sensation through his body.

"Did you feel this?" Penny asked, smiling at him.

Leonard just nodded. The kiss felt amazing. He wasn't dreaming. This was real.

"Leonard, you are a great guy. Every girl could consider herself happy to go out with you."

Leonard smiled shyly. "Nah! You're just talking."

"No, I'm not just talking. It's true," Penny assured him, laying a hand on his arm.

"Really?"

Penny took Leonard's hand in hers. "Yes. Really!"

"But, but...If you are really interested in going out with me you have to know, that I'm not looking for a fling."

Penny smiled. "You're the kind of guy that wants a long-term relationship, right?"

"Um, yes," Leonard replied quietly, looking down as he now had a feeling that this was not what Penny wanted.

"Well, I'm willing to give a long-term relationship with you a try."

Leonard looked up, seeing a sparkle in Penny's eyes. "So, you are really asking me out?"

"Yes, Leonard. I'm asking you out."

"And a long-term relationship would be okay for you?"

"Yes."

Leonard took a deep breath. "Wow, never in my wildest dreams I would have thought that a girl would ask me out."

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Penny chuckled. "So, what do you say? Will you go out with me?"

Leonard beamed, as his heart started to beat faster. "Yes, I will go out with you."

They looked at each other, a bright smile on both of their faces. Penny moved closer to Leonard and laid her head against him, savoring the togetherness they wanted to explore from now on.

* * *

Some time later, Leonard and Penny went to another place at the beach and sat down on a bench, looking at the sea and listening to the sound of the ocean. After a while Leonard put his arm around Penny's shoulders and began to stroke her face lightly, pushing back a few strands of her hair, that were blown in her face by the light sea breeze.

"This is nice," Penny hummed contentedly, closing her eyes.

Leonard continued to caress her tenderly, moving his hand along her jawline up to her cheekbones. "You are so beautiful."

Penny smiled, without opening her eyes. "You're a sweet-talker, Leonard."

"No, really. I mean it."

Penny opened her eyes and looked deep into Leonard's eyes. "You know, no one ever called me beautiful before."

Leonard was stunned, an unbelieving expression on his face.

"It's true," Penny continued. "I have been called hot or racy, but never beautiful." A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Leonard wiped the tear away with the palm of his hand. "You're the most beautiful girl in the world. That's for sure."

Penny beamed. "Aw, Leonard."

Leaning forward, Leonard kissed Penny softly on her lips. Slow at first, but more and more passionately with time. It didn't take long and they were engaged in a full-blown make out session.

Suddenly the sky was enlightened and loud banging filled the air. Leonard and Penny looked up and saw a grand display of fireworks above them. The Pacific Park staged a spectacular pre-Christmas fireworks.

Looking at the spectacle for a while, Leonard and Penny continued to make out in the light of the fireworks.

* * *

It was almost midnight, when Leonard and Penny were back in their apartment building. They stood in the hallway of the fourth floor, both reluctant to say goodbye to each other. They were not ready yet to let this wonderful day come to an end.

"We could let the day fade away in my place," Penny suggested. "Maybe I can interest you in a cup of coffee? What do you think?" she asked him with a smirk on her face.

Leonard frowned. "Don't you think it's a little late for coffee?"

Penny had to chuckle. "Aw, sweetie. You think a cup of coffee, means drinking a cup of coffee. This is so cute."

Leonard looked a bit dumbfounded. "Um, obviously I said something silly."

Penny laughed. "No, sweetie. It's okay. But obviously you're not familiar with a special code for a certain activity."

"What activity?"

Penny just winked and opened the door of her apartment.

Now Leonard understood. "Oh, this activity. Well..."

He couldn't finish his sentence, because all of a sudden Penny dragged him into her apartment and kicked the door shut.

Leonard could see that Penny's eyes were almost black, her pupils dilated due to sexual arousal. And most likely his pupils began to dilate as well, since that was going on in this moment aroused him too. Immensely.

Before Leonard could say anything, Penny had wrapped her arms around Leonard's neck and started to kiss him passionately. He immediately reciprocated the kissing and it didn't take long until her tongue unambiguously requested entrance to Leonard's mouth, which was willingly granted by him. While their tongues made contact, Leonard got rid of his hoodie, which Penny utilized to caress his upper body. Fairly quickly her hands found their way under his shirt, roaming over his belly up to his chest. Penny let out a moan, as Leonard gasped for air before they continued the wild kissing. Penny's hands were all over his upper body, exploring every corner there. Shoving away Leonard's shirt, Penny planted soft kisses on his chest, going further southwards over his belly.

Leonard panted heavily, looking down at Penny who was on her knees now. _Oh my god, this is exactly like the dream I had._

Looking up at him with a mischievous grin on her face, Penny opened the button of his pants and tore them down. "And now let's have a cup of coffee."

* * *

An hour later, Leonard and Penny lay in each other's arms, deeply satisfied and snug beneath the blankets of Penny's bed.

Leonard leaned on one elbow and looked at Penny. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sweetie, you were great," Penny said, smiling. "Really great."

"Oh, um, I am very pleased to hear that," he smirked.

"In fact, you were so great you should take a request for daily sex from my side into account from now on," Penny added with a broad grin on her face.

Leonard's eyes opened wide. "Oh! Okay! A request I certainly won't deny," he chuckled. "Um, but coming back to the question I actually want to ask you."

Penny looked at him intently.

"Well, now that we are going out, would you see me as your, um, boyfriend?"

Penny smiled. "Of course. You are my boyfriend, and I am your girlfriend."

Leonard nodded, a smile on his face. "Cool."

"Leonard, sweetie. Don't overthink this. We were friends, and now we are more than friends. We're at the beginning of a new phase of our lives, and I can't wait to see where it will take us."

Leonard smiled. "So do I."

Penny rolled over and kissed him gently. Yes, Leonard was the right guy for her.

* * *

Epilogue: May 16, 2019.

Leonard was on the way to his car, when he saw something in the window of the toyshop next to the grocery store he had just left. Smiling he looked at the item, that he definitely had to buy. Leonard brought his purchases from the grocery store to his car and returned to the toyshop, which he entered with a big smile on his face.

Thirty minutes later, Leonard sat in the living room of the house he and his wife had bought two years ago, reading a Batman comic book. He looked up, when he heard the sound of a key in the lock of the frontdoor. Moments later, the door opened and the lady of the house stepped inside.

"Hi, sweetie," Penny greeted her husband.

"Hello, babe," Leonard welcomed his wife. "How was your day?"

"Business as usual," she replied, walking over to Leonard and gave him a kiss on his lips.

"Um, I have something for you," Leonard said. "A present."

Penny was astonished. "A present? What's the occasion?"

"It's just because," Leonard replied. "I saw something when I came out of the grocery store and I thought you could like it."

"Now, you really have aroused my curiosity."

"Alright, close your eyes."

Penny giggled and closed her eyes, while Leonard went behind the couch and grabbed something that was stashed there.

"And now open your eyes."

Penny's eyes opened wide. "A mountain lion plushie," she exclaimed pleasantly surprised.

Leonard handed the plushie over to his wife. "Yeah. Well, you know, a mountain lion encounter almost twelve years ago brought us together. So, I thought maybe you like it."

"I love it, honey," Penny squealed. "And I love you."

Leonard smiled brightly. "I love you, too."

Hugging her husband and planting a smooch on his lips, Penny thought back at their first encounter and the wonderful years of bliss that followed. _Yes, Leonard is absolutely the right guy for me. Then, now and forever._

* * *

**And here ends this story. I hope you have enjoyed it a little bit. Thanks for reading and reviewing. :)**


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